Pokemon: news/community/gaming

With the deluge of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon announcements, there has been quite a lot of information for fans to analyze and digest for any hints into what will be in store for us once we arrive in #Alola.

Although we have quite a lot of information about new Pokémon, new game features, and even a demo to get a feel for the Alola region, here are seven Pokémon Sun and Moon Easter Eggs you might have missed from all the information available in the lead-up to the games’ releases on November 18.

1. Ash’s Greninja

The OT ID for Greninja says “Ash.”

When starting up the Pokémon Sun and Moon demo, the first Easter Egg occurs when the Trainer receives a letter from an unnamed sender, along with a Poké Ball holding a #Greninja. This special Greninja has a unique ability, which allows it to transform into Ash-Greninja.

Just like Ash’s Greninja from the anime, this Greninja goes through the same form change. If you look closely at Greninja’s trainer OT, it says Ash, which confirms that the Greninja in your possession is indeed one in the same.

2. Serena’s Sprained Ankle

Is this female NPC referring to Ash Ketchum?

Again within the demo there is another Easter Egg, one that we will refer to as “Serena’s Sprained Ankle,” and that would have piqued the interest of attentive fans of the #PokémonXY anime series.

If you recall, a female NPC found on the upper left map from across the Hau’oli City Hall mentions a Trainer who helped her when she sprained her ankle, and that she will be meeting him on a particular day.

At first glance the event seems normal, but it’s difficult not to make the connection with Serena from the anime. In the Pokemon XY series there’s a flashback that shows how Ash once helped Serena when she sprained her ankle at Professor Oak’s summer camp when they were children. In addition, having received a Greninja whose Trainer ID reads Ash, with a special ability that allows it to take the Ash-Greninja form. strengthens the initial theory that Ash will make an appearance in the demo.

Did Ash swing by and meet up with the female NPC? Well, be sure to check out the demo to find out!

3. Machamp Plotting The Land

#Machamp can be seen plotting the land, which is found between the Malasada Restaurant and Hau’oli Police Station.

Machamp plots the land.

This quirky Easter Egg is most likely a nod to the old man using his Machop to plot the land from the first Pokémon games in the series — Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow and Green(for those of you from Japan.)

4. ‘Looker’ From The International Police

He’s quite the looker, they tell me.

Although still unclear, a police officer NPC who can be found inside the Hau’oli Police Station says:

“Are you looking for the competent police officer? Or are you looking for the Pokémon that supports him?”

Some fans have speculated that this Easter Egg may be a reference to “Looker” from the International Police, who first officially appeared in Pokémon Platinum. Although Looker did not technically have a Pokémon in the main gaming series, he does have a Croagunk in the #PokémonPlatinum anime series.

Here’s to hoping that Looker makes an appearance in Alola to help stop #TeamSkull.

5. Gold And Silver Keys

Pokemon Gold and Silver box art

In the same Hau’oli Police Station near the back of the building are two keys on the wall. One key is silver while the other is gold. Although these keys may just be decorative items to add to the experience, there is a sense in the Pokémon community that these may be a throwback to Pokémon Gold and Silver, since Sun and Moon in many ways is the equivalent to Gold and Silver within the Mega timeline that Zenia mentions in #PokemonOmegaRuby and #PokemonAlphaSapphire.

6. How Would You Like To Have This Tasty, Nutritious Slowpoke Tail?

Near the docks in Hau’oli City there is a police officer who has heard a rumor that there will be some shady characters in the area willing to strike a shady deal at an approximate date.

Upon returning to speak to the officer on the designated day of said shady deal, the demo shows a #cutscene of two older characters talking about their Slowpoke’s tails and how beautiful they are. At first it seemed as though both characters were speaking in terms of eating Slowpoke tails, but as the scene continues the officer finds that both older gentlemen were simply mesmerized by how cute both Slowpoke were.

This throwback Easter Egg goes recalls Pokémon Gold and Silver, where Team Rocket and a shady salesmen try to sell Slowpoke tails on the black market.

7. Trainer Red’s 1996 T-Shirt

Lastly, the biggest Easter Egg, which hits you right in the feels, is Trainer Red’s 96 T-shirt. If you don’t look closely you might just miss it, seeing as it’s part of a trailer revealing that Red will appear in the Alola region.

The 96 T-shirt is a reference to the year that the first Pokémon games debuted in Japan with Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green.

Are there any other Easter Eggs you uncovered while playing the Pokémon Sun and Moon demo, or that you noticed in news trailers? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

The Pokemon Company has released a new Pokemon Sun and Moontrailer showcasing new Pokémon, playable demo, the return of some old features and so much more!

Out of all the information presented, Poke Pelago stands tall as a game changing feature.

What is Poke Pelago you ask?

It’s a pokemon paradise that is comprised of different Isles that focus on developing your bond with pokemon, training, and collecting rare items.

Why Is Poke Pelago A Game Changer?

As it always has been, there is the unfortunate depositing of hundreds of pokemon into the PC as one progresses through a pokemon game. The pack only allows for 6 pokemon and most of the time only 5 because a slot always goes to that special first starter that most can’t ever imagine depositing into the PC on the first play through of the game. Poke Pelago seems to be the perfect solution to the PC prison that will have an exciting new fresh take on old features.

Feel Guilty No More, Poke Pelago Is Here!

Feel guilty no more. In Pokemon Sun and Moon, no longer will Pokemon rot away in a PC prison like it has in the past.

PC Pokemon can now enjoy the Poke Pelago paradise which consist of different Isle respectively known as Isle Abeens, Isle Aphun, Isle Evelup, and one unnamed island that did not get highlighted in the trailer. It seems that with this introduction, the Pokemon company has finally changed the formula to keep our poke-pals happier rather than be imprisoned in pokeballs until a trainer decides to make use of them-if ever.

Poke Pelago Isles

Poke Pelago will allow Pokemon in the PC to gain experience, find treasures, increase stats and so much more. Here is a breakdown of each of the isle and what we know so far about this much needed feature.

Isle Abeens

In Isle Abeens, Pokemon from the PC work together to collect Pokebeans which are the equivalent of the previous food item Pokepuffs from Pokemon X and Y and Omega Rubyand Alpha Sapphire. As your pokemon collect beans, the Pokemon website states that apparently “visiting pokemon may sometimes choose to join your party”. In this instance visiting pokemon meaning wild pokemon. It suggest that as your pokemon collect beans they will gain aid from wild pokemon interested in the activity. Once a visiting Pokemon’s message bubble displays a heart icon, it increases the chances of that pokemon to join the party.

It seems that Pokemon has really been working on the importance of building a bond and strong relationships with pokemon. The Isle of Abeens is a feature that seeks to foster and present these ideals perfectly by treating your pokemon well through games and attracting pokemon that see your potential to be a pokemon trainer that they want to become friends with.

Isle Aphun

In Isle Aphun, your pokemon work together and explore a cave in search of treasure. In what has been revealed, some of these treasures can include evolutionary stones. An interesting description found on the official Pokemon Sun and Moon websites says that,“once you develop it (Isle Aphun), you may be able to obtain valuable items.” This is still unclear in a sense because it can be understood as upgrading an Isle or discovering an Isle.

Search Isle Aphun Caves for rare treasure

It perhaps means that a player may initially only start with one or two Isles to get the ball rolling and the more the Isle are utilized by your pokemon; the more of the likelyhood of unlocking new Isles and new items

Isle Evelup

In this Isle it seems that pokemon spend time training and growing their levels. Furthermore, Mohn, the caretaker of the Poke Pelago Isle sales stat and experience boosting drinks that increase your pokemon stats and experience depending on the drink purchased.

The smoothie drink seem to be work like that of the stat boosting items from previous installments such as HP Up, Protein, Carbos, and so on. Because the Isle shows that more than one pokemon can inhabit the Isle at any given time, it’s still not clear as to whether or not one drink affects the whole Isle or if a player has the option of giving the smoothie to a particular pokemon.

Purchase Stat and EXP boosting drinks for your Pokemon to help them grow in strength

This Isle’s function resembles the previous Super Training feature from Pokemon X andY and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Super training focused on playing mini games to boost a certain stat with the ability to add stat boosting punching bags to increase the amount of a boost given to a particular stat.

Is Love In The Air In Poke Pelago?

Lastly there is an unknown Isle with waterfall characteristics that was unfortunately not highlighted in the trailer. As to what the Isle focuses on is still unclear but it can be inferred that because of how the other isles are set-up to use your PC pokemon, it will most likely be set-up in the same manner.

In taking a wild guess, maybe the Isle could be a Breeding Isle where pokemon can be paired or find partners to breed for pokemon eggs. There is no concrete evidence but because the Isle seem to take some old features that involve pokemon doing some sort of activity, a daycare Isle may make sense to the overall theme of building relationships and taking care of pokemon.

Nintendo’s next console, which is known as Project NX, is still very much shrouded in mist. The only concrete information thus far has been its late March 2017 release date and as always a couple of unconfirmed rumors surrounding the design and processing power of the console. Although the console won’t be hitting the shelves in time for Christmas, Nintendo is promising a wide range of IP’s like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pikmin 4, Dragon Quest XI and even 3rd party game support as the console makes its way to the market.

Interestingly, Pokemon Company executive, Tsunekazu Ishihara, in an interview with Wall Street Journal and British publication MVC stated that, “We will be making games for the NX.” The statement confirms that we will be getting pokemon titles for the NX and apparently Pokemon games by Gamefreak, the development team behind the main Pokemon series games. This has sparked some conversations in the pokemon community because until now, Gamefreak en largely has only focused on making the main series entries for Nintendo. Some of these conversations have included the idea that perhaps, this will be the first time to see a main series game finally make it to a console platform. One of the big questions in the pokemon community

Is a main series pokemon game like Pokemon Sun and Moon making its way to the NX?

Up to this point it’s still unclear.

Amid this exciting prospect, we have compiled a list of nostalgic Pokemon titles that are long overdue for a sequel and would make a perfect addition to the NX console game line up.

Battle It Out In Pokemon Stadium!

Pokemon Stadium debut in 1999

Pokemon Stadium later followed by Pokemon Stadium 2, is a pokemon battling strategy game from the N64 platform that had many similarities to the main series pokemon battle mechanics where a player uses some of their favorite pocket monsters and battle other pokemon with various attacks. One major feature that both these games included was the capability of moving pokemon from main titles like Pokemon Red, Blue, & Yellow through the transfer pak hardware over to Pokemon Stadium so that they could be used to battle.

With the impending release of Pokemon Sun and Moon, the idea of seeing a newStadium game that could potentially connect with main titles is exciting. Stadium games for the most part focus on the battling mechanics with little to any story line. With a full fetched battle system with over 700 hundred pokemon already available, a Pokemon Stadium sequel would make great addition for those competitive battlers that want to put their strategies to the test in a dedicated game to pokemon battling.

A Shadow Pokemon Appears!

Pokemon Colosseum debut in 2003

Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gales Of Darkness take place in the same region of Orre where a young trainer must travel around saving “shadow” pokemon who have been used for evil doings. Although Pokemon XD: Gales Of Darkness is not a direct sequel to Pokemon Colosseum as they have completely different protagonists, they follow similar story lines in capturing “shadow” pokemon and purifying them to fight off their respective antagonist. Both these games are different because they change the formula from the traditional 8 Gyms and the Elite Four completion goal. These Gamecube titles are a great pick to make it the NX lineup because the story was fresh and offered the idea that pokemon could be evil if trained by bad trainers that sought to bring havoc on the world. The ability to then purify those pokemon by strengthening your bond through battling is what makes this game quite rewarding.

Gotta Snap ‘Em All!

The top contender that is extremely deserving of a sequel is the beloved and nostalgicPokemon Snap! In Pokemon Snap, Professor Oak calls upon your photography skills to snap a picture of all 151 pokemon to create a photo album index of sorts.

The game places you on a trolley cart that runs through different landscapes as you try and snap pictures of as many pokemon that appear in varying terrains. Because the game is set-up on the player completing a photodex, it makes it rewarding to take pictures and revisit levels to explore potential hidden pokemon you may have missed. After finishing each level, Professor Oak judges each of your photos and grants you report points that can be used towards unlocking different items to aid you in completing the photodex. The game has all the makings that would make it the perfect contender to see release on the NX. Furthermore, during a September Pokemon Sun and Moon trailer at the 2:11 mark:

it was revealed that trainers could now take pictures with their trusty Rotomdex. The feature called Pokefinder allows players to take photos of wild pokemon in certain locations and fascinatingly like Prof. Oak, the Rotomdex judges your pictures and gives you points on your photography skills. It also goes as far as to share those photos with other players and tallies how many people gave your photos a like. It is still not clear if the points give the player a reward in anyway so for now we will have to wait for the game to make its debut to find out.

With a pokemon roster of over 700 Pokémon, confirmation that Gamefreak is developing a pokemon title for the NX console, and the Pokemon Snap like feature,

Is it possible that the trailer may have hinted at the first glimpse of what could possibly be a future Pokemon Snap 2 entry?

Until March 2017 comes around and the NX makes its release, time will tell as Nintendo keeps pokemon fans waiting to know if this old favorite will Snap back into the gaming scene.

While all the information known about the game thus far is awesome, one question is still left unanswered, “Where is Mega-Evolution?” Originally introduced in Pokemon X & Y, pokemon who can mega evolve change into a stronger form with the help of a Key Stone (Mega Bracelet) and a respective Mega stone. Mega evolution enriched competitive battling with new ways to battle and revitalized the use of Pokemon that generally had a difficult time competing against Pokemon above their tier.

To date, Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company have left the community in the dark when it comes to this mechanic making a return to the series. Many fans in the community are still anxiously waiting for any confirmation of Megas returning and below are examples of what The Johto Press has been able to unearth around the possibility of the Mega Evolution mechanic returning to the series by using some of the information already released about Pokemon Sun and Moon.

Mega Evolution is one of the most recognizable mechanics from Pokemon X & Y (Gen VI) as it served as one of the major plot lines of the game. In Pokemon X & Y Professor Sycamore and his trusty assistants Dexio and Sina are researching the strange new form of evolution that only seemed to appear in the Kalos region (later returning in Pokemon ORAS). In reference to Dexio and Sina, it was difficult to ignore the return of these characters in an early September Pokemon Sun and Moon trailer (1:56) where the main protagonist is shown speaking to them about collecting Zygarde cells and cores with the Zygarde Cube key item. The character models are uncanny and are confirmed within the trailer as their names are shown in this particular scene.

Dexio and Sina entrust the trainer with the Zygarde Cube to find its cells and cores

As mentioned before, Dexio and Sina are assistants of Professor Sycamore who’s research revolves around Mega Evolution and the Pokedex. It can be assumed that their presence in Sun & Moon and their interest in Zygarde could just be another research project assigned to them by Professor Sycamore; however, why entrust the player with finding Zygarde cells and cores? If you’ve played Pokemon X & Y, it is important to note that Dexio and Sina’s motives aren’t always what it may seem. Apart from helping Professor Sycamore research Mega Evolution, both of these characters always seemed to show up during major turning points in Pokemon X & Y that involved Team Flare or upgrading your Pokedex. As the plot drew near in X & Y, it is revealed that Sina and Dexio are indeed the masked crusaders who call themselves the Defenders of Kalos.

The questions then come up, could Sina and Dexio have other reasons for which they are in the Alola region? Is it possible that apart from Zygarde, that they are potentially also researching the presence of mega evolution in the Alola region? At this point in time, these questions are obviously speculative but do come to mind in relation to Mega Evolution and their return to the main series.

Before we let Dexio and Sina off the hook, the same image mentioned has both of them sporting some peculiar looking bracelets that if looked at more closely don’t seem to resemble Z-Rings. Their bracelets have a more smoother surface and lacks the sharp crystal edges of the Z-Ring. It can be said that their bracelet design more closely resembles the Mega bracelets from X & Y. In this instance, their bracelets are white in color versus the traditional black color scheme. It can be argued that these are most likely just character customization accessories, but it is odd to see two characters wear the same accessory.

Dexio and Sina sporting a rather particular bracelet unlike the Z-Ring

The next piece of potential indication of Mega Evolution is a familiar pose that every trainer must learn to call upon Mega Evolution. Now, jokes aside in Pokemon X & Y, there are times that the trainer makes a couple of hand and wrist gestures before raising a fist in the air to signify Mega Evolution. In the same fashion, one of the Pokemon Sun and Moon Japanese trailers (1:45) from the month of July 2016 featured a familiar pose like that of the Mega pose from Pokemon X & Y. Although the scene is clumped together with scenes of the new Z-Move mechanic, it has a different animation from that of Z-Move sequences. The image below gives a point of visual reference to show the close similarities that they share.

Trainer from Sun and Moon oddly poses like the Mega pose from X + Y. What could it all mean?

Lastly, its time to discuss the closes piece of official information that mentions the appearance of mega pokemon in Pokemon Sun and Moon. V-Jump a Japanese magazine that focus on manga and video game news featured a spotlight on Jangmo-o, a new dragon pokemon from the Alola region. In this highlight the magazine goes over Jangmo-o’s Soundproof ability and mentions that it can stop a Hyper Voice attack from Sylveon and Mega-Gardevoir. This is the first instance in which Mega Evolution is clearly mentioned as being cannon to appearing in Pokemon Sun and Moon. It can be inferred that since Jangmo-o is a new pokemon and it can stop Mega-Gardevoir’s Hyper Voice attack, then we will most definitely be able to battle and use mega pokemon.

Jangmo-o can stop Mega-Gardevoir’s Hyper Voice

Even with this information, its still odd that mega pokemon game play has yet to surface. Some speculative thoughts as to why this may be are that mega evolutions are being saved for the post game. Furthermore, the hope that new Megas will be introduced are unlikely unless Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company have one final piece of news in relation to the Mega Evolution mechanic before the game releases.

The game is set to release November 18th in North America which is less than one month and half away. Here is to hoping that more news drops surrounding the return of Mega Pokemon.

As always, be the best version of yourself! This Politoed is OOUUUUTTTT!

The finale to the Team Flare Arc has finally come to a close with the latest episode of Pokemon XYZ Anime, a one hour special beginning with the episode titled, “The Megalith Moves Forward! The Kalos Line of Defense!!” Although it was a two part episode special, this review will go over episode 42 respectively mentioned above. As always, SPOILER WARNING! Please be sure to watch the episode before reading if you do not want to be spoiled of the plotlines and episode resolutions.

The review will be split into the following which are Pokemon Battles, Top Emotional Moments, Music, and Overall Story.

Pokemon Battles

This episode has some of the best pokemon battles and sequences of the Pokemon XYZ series which is not surprising with it being the conclusion to the attack on the Kalos region. There are quite a few that will be discussed, but not to worry some of the best have also made the Top Emotional Moments section of this review so bear with us as we go over some of the best battles.

The first battle is Serena, Steven Stones, and Professor Sycamore vs. the Megalith Zygarde. Although quite short, the battle was great in that we saw Mega Garchomp and Mega Metagross in action as they faced off with some of the vines with the help of Braixen. The Mega evolution scene with the Professor and Steven Stone amps the action that will surely come as the episode continues.

Next, we have the arrival of Alain and Satoshi to the aid of Steven Stone, Serena, and the Professor. The battle makes the scene so much more meaningful because of how it plays well on the comradery between all the characters. Mega Charizard and Pikachu come just in the nick of time to keep the vines from taking hold of Braixen, Garchomp, and Metagross. The scene moves forward with the plan to save Chespin within the megalith as Greninja joins the fight to free Chespin. The entire team valiantly works together but are unfortunately caught in the grips of the megalith vines until the arrival of the Kalos Line of Defense; who are the line of the defense? Keep reading as it is in the top emotional moment’s section of this review.

Top Emotional Moments

There are so many moments in the episode that are worthy of discussion! The episode was that emotionally driven. The first emotional moments has to be when Satoshi gives his short inspiring speech about protecting Chespin and the Kalos region. The always “go getter” and “fight to end” character motif of Satoshi at least has not changed in the 20 years of the Pokemon franchise. This moment in many ways becomes a voice for the fans as we cheer our favorite heroes on.

The second emotional moment is seeing the entire cast fly into the setting sun and standing together to fight off the megalith. Although the scenes were short, some of the action shots and scenes really highlighted the character’s comradery and emotion to save Chespin thus saving the Kalos region. Some of the shots include the helicopter scenes with Satoshi and the supporting cast overlooking their brave pokemon battle for the fate of Kalos.

Lastly, the top moment in THE JOHTO PRESS’ opinion has to be the arrival of the Kalos Gym leaders which are perfectly called after the title of the episode “Kalos Line of Defense”. Their arrival is signified by a white blast of light at a pivotal moment in the episode. Their arrival is just perfect with the right music, gym pun character lines, and their own glamour shot moment introducing their Pokémon specialty. This is the closing scene of the episode 42 which ends perfectly as the heroes regroup to plan a course of action.

Music + Soundtrack

Overall the music choices in the episode were fitting with track titles like the “XY Trainer Battle”Theme when Charizard and Pikachu save Braixen from a nasty fall and the “Ash-Greninja” Theme as Greninja joins the fight to mark the location of Chespin with his Water Shuriken attack as the rest of the supporting pokemon cast help Greninja reach the Megalith. Lastly the best music track combined with one of the best character appearance has to be the Kalos Gym Leaders as they unexpectedly join the defense line as they stand together. The music track that made this scene even more powerful is one that I unfortunately cannot seem to find but will link here and call it the “Gym Fighting Spirit”. This song was played another time when Satoshi faces off Olympia in the XY Gym Arc around 12:50 time stamp of the episode. The song really adds to the entrance of the gym leaders as they are each given a manga style portrait as they say their gym specialty. Fans went bonkers to see that Satoshi and the rest of the supporting cast had the help of no other than the most prominent characters from Kalos which apart from gym leaders include Malva from the Elite Four and the Kalos Champion, Diantha.

If anyone happens to know the track title that plays when the gym leaders arrive, please be sure to leave a comment below so I may update this review with its proper name!

Overall Story

The episode’s purpose was to definitely position all the characters in the important role they will play to save Kalos. Apart from moving the plot forward to its finale, the combination of the music, action scenes, and the arrival of the Kalos Line of Defense made this episode hit an emotional cord as a viewer. As a whole the story did well in making viewers feel that without the help of one another nothing can ever be accomplished. It also introduces moments in which Puni-chan’s fellow Zygarde core has difficulty understanding why humans are coming to the aid of a pokemon when they are up against a force much more powerful than them. Overall, the story was great with its emotional moments and throwing in ideas of belief and having hope.